Celebrity chef Salt Bae was embroiled in controversy when he bizarrely ran onto the pitch during the 2022 World Cup final.
Controversial poker player Dan Bilzerian, 43, from Tampa, Florida, revealed he always knew the chef was ‘weird’ because he had been sending him pictures of himself for years.
The social media personality shared a screen capture of his DMs, which showed Salt Bae – real name Nusret Gökçe, 40 – trying to communicate with him for years.
He captioned the video on his Instagram Stories: “Anyone talking about how weird this Salt Bae is, I’ve known that for years. What nonsense.’
It seemed that the Turkish butcher tried to befriend Dan way back in 2015 by sending him a slew of private snaps.
Dan Bilzerian, 43, from Tampa, Florida, revealed that he always knew Salt Bae was ‘weird’ because he had been sending him pictures of himself for years
The video showed the sheer number of photos Dan received from Salt Bae, and the fact that Dan never responded to his messages didn’t stop the chef from sending even more photos.
To make matters even more awkward, the images were sent to the 43-year-old despite Bilzerian not following Salt Bae on Instagram.
The photos ranged from shots of the chef topless to him holding large knives next to steaks and selfies with a dog.
Bilzerian’s comments come after Salt Bae bizarrely took to the pitch and chased several Argentina players shortly after they defeated France to win the trophy at the 2022 World Cup.
Lionel Messi looked visibly frustrated with the celebrity chef trying to catch him as he celebrated winning the only major trophy that had eluded him in his glittering career.
In other cringe-inducing scenes, the chef put another player’s medal in his mouth and continued to try to grab the Argentina team’s trophy as they celebrated.
Now the 39-year-old, real name Nusret Gokce, has tried to explain what he was thinking and says he will never step foot on the pitch again during the World Cup.
The social media personality shared a screen capture of his DMs, which showed Salt Bae trying to communicate with him for years
The Turkish butcher, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, tried to befriend Dan back in 2015, by sending him a slew of private snaps
He captioned the video on his Instagram Stories: “Anyone talking about how weird this Salt Bae is, I’ve known that for years.”
‘I love Argentina; I have lived there. I was going to support them,” he told The Times about why he was at the game.
“Many of (the team) have come to the restaurant. I didn’t feel like a stranger. It was a special moment. I can’t do anything about the reason I was there, but I would never step onto the World Cup pitch again.
‘Two billion people watched the World Cup. How many people are talking about me? Five billion. Worldwide.’
‘I didn’t go on the field for advertising purposes; I just felt like it. Then it was a little surprise. There were at least a thousand people still on the field, but when they showed the video they saw it was just me.
‘I never wanted to overshadow anything. I didn’t like the attention. I didn’t kick anyone or steal anything.’
Footage emerged on social media showing the Turkish boss desperately trying to get close to Messi by putting his hand on his shoulder and encouraging him to reluctantly shake hands before trying to pull him back.
Salt Bae was embroiled in controversy when he bizarrely ran onto the pitch during the 2022 World Cup final
Salt Bae (right) places his hand on the shoulder of Argentina’s Lionel Messi at the end of the World Cup final
Salt Bae also approached Messi’s Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria, posing for a video with the winger and saying ‘Wow’ as they held the trophy together.
He then struck the precious gold trophy and hit it with a silver ring he was wearing, making an audible clatter, leaving Di Maria beside him completely stunned.
Under FIFA rules, only a “very select group of people” are allowed to touch the trophy, including World Cup winners and heads of state. This begs the question why the Z-lister was even allowed to go anywhere near that.
The governing body said they are investigating how he ended up on the field but have not publicly released any findings.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously been pictured in Salt Bae’s restaurants.